Curry County will re-establish a Public Health Department after contractor Curry Community Health transfers public health services back to the county effective Friday, Feb. 28th.
The county will continue to offer some of the same essential public health services provided by Curry Community Health, with plans to add services over the coming months. Services to become immediately available by the county Feb. 28th include:
- WIC (Women, Infants, and Children)
- Safe Drinking Water
- Food, Pool and Lodging Inspection services
- Communicable Disease Reporting and Investigation
- Public Health Emergency Preparedness
- Indoor Clean Air Act complaints
The Curry County Board of Commissioners appointed Sherrié Ward as the Local Public Health Administrator. Ms. Ward has been working closely with other county leadership to prepare for the transition. Several other public health staff from Curry Community Health will be joining the new County Public Health Department.
Sherrié Ward
“I am excited to be joining the county as their Local Public Health Administrator,” said Ward. “Working through the transition will take some time, but we are committed to a smooth as possible transition.” Ward also noted the county website will be updated in a few weeks, as more information during the transition period is available. The web page will be found on the county website, www.co.curry.or.us.
The County Public Health Department will not provide direct medical services and encourages the public to seek care from local primary health care providers in the community. Over the coming weeks and months, the county will be working with local partners and providers to assure immunization, reproductive health, disease screening and treatment services are available in the community.
“We appreciate Curry Community Health providing public health services to people in Curry County over the past seven years,” said Julie Schmelzer, County Director of Operations. “We look forward to building a strong public health department in the community.”
The Curry County Public Health Department will be located at 94235 Moore Street, Suite 121, in Gold Beach. Satellite offices in Brookings and Port Orford will be announced at a later date.
